The Pawloined Paper
The Pawloined Paper is the 22nd ''Wishbone'' episode. It was aired on November 7, 1995. Plot Ellen tells Joe to finish brushing his teeth; Wishbone and Joe run down the stairs. Joe is wearing different clothes than when he was at breakfast, to which Joe replies that he likes these clothes better. Ellen suspects that he is trying to impress someone. Joe tells Ellen that he finished his homework and filled both of Wishbone's bowls, so the 2 of them leave to drop Joe off at school. As they leave, Wishbone tries to look for his rubber newspaper (which is in the middle of the room) and cannot find it, trashing the room in the process. He accidentally knocks over a stack of books, one of them titled The Works of Edgar Allan Poe. Wishbone searches through the book until he finds a story called ''The Purloined Letter'': the first detective novel, written at least 50 years before Sherlock Holmes. In 1831 Paris, the Chief Inspector of the Paris Police arrives at the home of C. Auguste Dupin, a detective who has just solved the Murders in the Rue Morgue. The Chief Inspector tells Dupin that the case that he requires help on is very simple but perplexing, and also extremely delicate, so they must keep it a secret. Months earlier, The Queen of France had recieved a letter that she did not want her husband, the King of France, to know about. However, the Chancellor of France - recognizing the handwriting and seal on the letter - had noticed her suspicious behavior, and cleverly stole the letter while the King was distracted. The Queen ensured her trust in the Chief Inspector and the Paris Police to recover the letter before its contents are revealed, but every time they searched his home, they could not find the letter. stealing the letter]] After the Chief Inspector finishes his story, Dupin suspects that the Chancellor is blackmailing the Queen to keep quiet for his personal and political gains. The Chief Inspector then gives Dupin a blueprint map of the Chancellor's home, with marks to indicate where they had searched. Back in the present, Joe's 6th grade history teacher Miss Gretchen Malloy is teaching Joe about the Battle of Waterloo, and how the English cavalry, under command from The Duke of Wellington, had fallen back, fooling the French, under command from Napoleon, into thinking they they had retreated. The English actually devised a plan to divide the cavalry into square, and when the French attacked, they were ambushed by Wellington's men, forcing the French to divide their thrust and forfeit their victory. Joe then notices that the paper has a list of supplies on the back of it, and Miss Malloy explains that she uses both sides of the paper so as not to waste it. As David and Sam arrive, they ask what Joe has, and Joe shows them. As the bell goes off, Curtis, a classmate of Joe's, arrives a few seconds later. Miss Malloy notices that Curtis is tardy again, but Curtis notices that Joe has a crush on Miss Malloy. As Miss Malloy talks about the Battle of Waterloo, Joe starts writing out a crossword of words to describe Miss Malloy, but Curtis notices him doing so. Joe is embarrased and tries to hide it, but Curtis steals it. As Joe tries to get it, Miss Malloy takes the paper, and sets it down on her desk. Curtis then taunts Joe that he'll make Joe famous once he gets the paper, further cementing Joe's embarrasement. Back at the house, Wishbone continues searching for the newspaper, but still cannot find it. Back in the story, Dupin wants to know more about their searches conducted at the Chancellor's house. The Chief Inspector tells him about their thorough searches, but finding nothing in the process. When Dupin's butler Claude suggests that he carry the letter with him, the Chief Inspector dismisses this as his men - disguised as thieves - have searched him thoroughly with no such luck. Dupin then asks the Chief Inspector for a thorough description of the letter, and the Chief Inspector ponders that the letter must be there somewhere. Back in the present, Joe opens his locker, still thinking that his paper is somewhere on Miss Malloy's desk. Curtis then walks out of Miss Malloy's classroom, annoyed because Miss Malloy gave him a week of detention for searching through her desk drawers. As Miss Malloy leads Curtis to the principal's office, Joe sneaks into Miss Malloy's classroom and starts searching through papers on her desk, but stops as soon as the janitor enters the room. Joe lies that he is copying an assignment for extra credit, but the janitor is too busy to pay attention to Joe and dumps a trash bin full of paper into a paper sack on his cart before leaving. Joe then thinks that his paper might be in the trash and follows the janitor. The janitor empties a paper sack into a larger trash bin. As he enters another room, Joe begins searching through the trash bin to find his paper. Miss Malloy finds him and Joe tells her that he lost his homework. Malloy jokes that at least he didn't say Wishbone ate it. By this point, Wishbone has thoroughly trashed the room, and accidentally sits on the newspaper that he was searching for. Joe arrives and is shocked to see the room in a mess. Joe then cleans everything up, and continues to wonder where the paper is, and that maybe Curtis does have it, to which Wishbone replies, "Who's Curtis?" The next morning, Wishbone waits for Joe to come home, wondering if he found the paper yet. Back in the story, the Chief Inspector returns to Dupin's house, with no luck finding the letter, and wishes that he could pay 50,000 francs to whoever found. Dupin then tells the Chief Inspector to write the check, because he has found the letter, and produces it to him. The Chief Inspector then leaves to take the letter to the Queen. Claude then asks how Dupin was able to find the letter, to which Dupin reveals that he used logic: when the police searched the Chancellor's home, they believed that the Chancellor would have hidden the letter in an out-of-place location, but because the Chancellor was also a poet, he was also a creative thinker, so he actually hid it out in the open. When Dupin arrived at the Chancellor's house for a social visit, he scanned the room and found the letter in a card rack. It is also revealed that the letter was written in the Chancellor's hand, and bore his seal. Back in the present, Joe has David and Sam over as they study for the test. David wonders where the paper Miss Malloy gave him is, and Wishbone gives it to Joe. Joe then hears the phone ringing and answers it: the caller is Curtis, who is at the school, near Miss Malloy's classroom. He tells Joe that when he gets out of detention, he will find Joe's paper. Joe realizes that Curtis doesn't have his paper yet, and runs to the school with Wishbone. Joe opens the door so Wishbone can sneak in. The janitor from earlier arrives and begins prepping his cart. Wishbone sneaks around the corner and then charges past the janitor, prompting the janitor to wildly chase Wishbone all throughout the school, catching the attention of Miss Malloy, giving Joe the perfect opportunity to sneak into the classroom and find his paper. Initially, Joe has no luck finding the paper, but eventually finds it. Wishbone escapes the janitor when a girl in a wheelchair hides Wishbone under a sweater she is carrying, and moves to the opposite side of the hallway. She then uncovers Wishbone after everyone passes, and Wishbone runs off to find Joe; this is all witnessed by Miss Malloy. Wishbone meets Joe outside, but Curtis arrives and claims that he has Joe's paper, and even reveals it. But Joe reveals the true paper, shocking Curtis, who wants to know how he obtained the letter. Back in the story, Claude asks Dupin how he stole the letter away from the Chancellor's home. Dupin reveals that he devised a plan that he had forgotten something from the day before, and returned to the Chancellor's home. While the Chancellor is distracted by someone shooting at his house with a pistol (actually someone paid by Dupin to cause a disturbance in the streets) , Dupin - having memorized the location of the letter - carefully stole the letter, and replaces it with one almost identical to it exteriorwise, saving the Queen from further blackmail, and positioning her to make the Chancellor pay for his crimes. As Claude and Dupin celebrate, the Chancellor back home opens the letter, only to find an inked paw print on it. Realizing that Dupin has tricked him and recovered the letter, The Chancellor then crumples the replica letter in fury. Back in the present, Joe explains that he, like Dupin, used logic to find the letter. Joe was about to give up, when he noticed a paper tacked to the wall, partially crumpled. The paper was revealed to be Joe's paper. Curtis compliments Joe on his clever work before claiming that he'll get him back next time. As Curtis leaves, Miss Malloy arrives and says that Joe should get ready for his test. Miss Malloy then tells Joe that she is flattered that he thinks she's cool but that he spelled excellent wrong. Joe is initially shocked, but quickly gets over it and help Miss Malloy move a box to her car. Just then, the janitor flings open the door and chases Wishbone around the basketball court until he tires. Wishbone then runs off as the janitor tiredly collapses onto the basketball court. Cast 'Oakdale' Soccer the dog as Wishbone * Larry Brantley as the voice of Wishbone Jordan Wall as Joe Talbot Christie Abbott as Sam Kepler Adam Springfield as David Barnes Mary Chris Wall as Ellen Talbot Maryann Keleher as Miss Gretchen Malloy Taylor Pope as Curtis Trey Walpole as the janitor Laurie Wolfie as the wheelchair girl 'The Purloined Paper' Soccer the dog as C. Auguste Dupin * Larry Brantley as the voice of C. Auguste Dupin Lynn Mathis as Chief Inspector Elly Lindsay as Queen of France Bob Eric Hart as King of France Cliff Stephens as Chancellor of France Joe Nemmers as Claude Jonathan Brent as crazed man in the streets Transcript The Pawloined Paper/Transcript Tail-Ends Wishbone talks about directors. Directors are writers who make visual stories, and directors also take a story and translate it into a series of pictures. Directors can also take the script, break each scene down into a series of shots, and plan out how to capture each shot using the camera. That specific type director is called a director of photography, or a cinematographer. Trivia * This episode was originally meant to be the 14th episode of the series, but was replaced by The Hunchdog of Notre Dame. * The script was written by Mark S. Bernthal and published on December 15, 1994. * According to a school calendar briefly shown, this episode takes place in March 1995. * The original story does not directly address the Queen, King, and Chancellor, but it does center a royal family. ** The real King of France in 1831 was Louis-Philippe I the Citizen King. ** The real Queen of France in 1831 was Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily. ** There was no Chancellor of France in 1831; the last Grand Chancellor of France existed in 1790. Category:Episodes Category:Season 1 episodes